Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,509 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.4 %

Lancaster Colony stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.49. The company had a trading volume of 12,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,486. The business has a fifty day moving average of $184.01 and a 200 day moving average of $181.26. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

About Lancaster Colony

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.